Articles

T- and X-shaped polyphilic liquid crystals can generate ordered structures with potential nanotechnology applications. Here, the inability of polyphiles to achieve optimal packing and complete nanophase separation is exploited to produce a flexible two-dimensional honeycomb with giant octagonal and square cylinders.

The analysis of food web properties under different environmental conditions informs us how the ecosystem functions. Here, Tunneyet al. use post-glacial lakes as model ecosystems to show how macroscopic patterns of food webs vary with changes in habitat and resource accessibility.

Adult neurogenesis in the mammalian brain is implicated in the storage and processing of memories. Vivaret al.label afferents to new dentate gyrus granule cells and find that they receive direct input from the perirhinal and lateral entorhinal cortex and that these inputs enable spatial pattern separation.

The physical properties of organic metals have generally been described in terms of a highly correlated Luttinger liquid. Using angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, Kisset al. measure the Fermi surface of (BEDT-TTF)₃Br(pBIB), and find that, in contrast to other systems, it can be described as a Fermi liquid.

Continuous variable quantum key distribution allows secure communication that is more robust against channel losses than discrete approaches, yet is strongly affected by noise. Madsenet al.devise a continuous scheme for modulated entangled states that is more tolerant to noise and loss than other protocols.

It has been controversial whether the sizes of different regions of the brain can evolve independently of each other. This study identifies genetic loci responsible for independent size regulation in different brain regions, and finds brain size to be regulated independently of body size.

The charge-transfer characteristics of conjugated molecules are important in determining their electronic properties. Using resonant photoemission spectroscopy, Batraet al. quantify the through-space charge transfer in two model conjugated systems with femtosecond resolution.

Well-defined, monodisperse colloids of semiconducting polymers are required as new photonic and optoelectronic materials. Here, a Suzuki–Miyaura dispersion polymerization is used to produce monodisperse sub-micrometer particles of a range of semiconducting polymers.

Vascular calcification is commonly associated with advanced stages of atherosclerosis. Woldtet al. show that the nuclear hormone receptor PPARγ in vascular smooth muscle cells protects mice from vascular calcification by inhibiting Wnt5a signalling triggered by activation of the cell-surface receptor LRP1.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes can selectively stabilize telomeric i-motif DNA and have been suggested as a treatment for cancer. Here, carbon nanotubes are found to inhibit telomerase activity by stabilizing i-motif DNA, leading to telomere uncapping and altered telomere function in cancer cells.

Current methods for detecting proliferation in live cells cannot distinguish between dividing cells and cells that are progressing through the cell cycle. Here, a method is described that detects anillin in the contractile ring and in the midbody of cells during M-phase, providing a more accurate detection of dividing cells.

Achieving spin separation of charged particles in non-uniform magnetic fields is hindered by the Lorentz force. Kohdaet al. demonstrate spin separation in a semiconductor nanostructure by exploiting the effective magnetic field arising from the spin–orbit interaction and achieve highly polarized spin currents.

Spin liquids are states of matter in which the constituent spins of a magnet are highly correlated yet fluctuate strongly down to millikelvin temperatures. Here the authors report torque magnetometry measurements of the Mott insulator EtMe₃Sb[Pd(dmit)₂]₂and find it displays an ungapped quantum spin liquid state.

Fragile X syndrome is a major genetic cause of autism and is caused by loss of the fragile X mental retardation protein. In a mouse model of fragile X syndrome, Junget al. show that an absence of neuronal endocannabinoid signalling is responsible for the neurophysiological and behavioural defects.

The computational prediction of complex protein architectures has been used to design globular proteins, but the folding of collagen triple helices is difficult to predict. Here, a sequence-based scoring function for triple helix is developed and used to select sequences likely to self-assemble with high stability.

Heart failure is often a consequence of pathological growth of cardiomyocytes or cardiac hypertrophy. Here Ucar and colleagues report that the microRNAs miR-132 and miR-212 promote cardiac hypertrophy and inhibit autophagy in cardiomyocytes by downregulating the transcription factor FoxO3.

Filial imprinting allows precocial birds to form social attachment to other animals or objects soon after hatching. Yamaguchi and colleagues investigate the mechanisms responsible for this, and find that thyroid hormones circulating in the plasma regulate the sensitive period during which imprinting occurs.

The flexibility of microwave photonics provides advantages over electronic circuitry, yet the lack of integrated chip-scale devices limits its practical application. This study presents microwave filters based on photonic crystal waveguides with controllable delays as a step towards intregable circuits.

The efficiency of reprogramming somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells is low. To enhance reprogramming efficiency, Li and Rana used a chemical screen and identified several kinase inhibitors that enhance reprogramming, and show that blocking Aurora A, p38 and inositiol triphosphate 3-kinase signalling is important for this process.

The protein α-synuclein is implicated in Parkinson's disease. Rhinn and colleagues perform gene expression analysis and find that specific α-synuclein transcripts are preferentially associated with Parkinson's disease, and that they potentiate the accumulation of α-synuclein protein.